In The Rain
by llovera
Summary: She looked around the same street she saw every single day. She watched as people pass by her window and everything's the same as she remembered it to be, but something was different. Something was out of place but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She blinked. Oh Lord. She blinked again. She was human.
1. Waiting

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the following chapter or chapters to come. The only thing I own, as pathetic and self-deprecating as it sounds, is the idea behind this story. Please, enjoy.

**Waiting**

It was a time when Voldemort laid quietly in his wait – his wait to become ruler of all. He waited quietly and patiently, for his time to strike fear into people's hearts. When that moment finally came, he would play with their fears like strings on a harp by twirling them slowly. He'd make the most beautiful music anyone would have ever heard and just as the music reaches a crescendo, he would cut those taut strings and that fear would be in limbo in their hearts forever.

Forever is a long time, he thought. As a cruel smile escaped from the shell of his body in the dark corner of the world where only he is in, he laid and waited – quietly and patiently.

"Settle down, students," Professor McGonagall's voice resonated in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

It was the start of the school term and the final year students of Hogwarts gathered around in their respective Houses before their professors.

"I hope I get Transfiguration. That would sound cool." Ron rubbed his hands in anticipation.

"Good luck with that. I just hope I don't get Potions." Harry shudders at the thought. "Can you imagine – three whole months with Snape?"

Ron shudders too.

"I hope I get Muggle Studies," Ginny piped. "I think the subject's just fascinating."

Ron and Harry stared at her with a look of disgust on their faces.

"What?" Ginny said defensively. She looked down at her hands and began twiddling her thumbs.

Ron turned his attention to the stage where Professor McGonagall was still trying to organise the students who were far more excited talking about what they did during their vacation than listening to her.

Harry watched Ginny for a while and smiled inwardly. He adored her and at first he thought it was only the kind of love he had for a sister, if he ever had one, but as time went by, he knew better. He realized that he was attracted to her and that the things she did sometimes put him in a trance.

After what seemed like ages, Professor McGonagall finally got the attention of all the final year students.

"I hope you all realise that you are in your final year of studies. As you may know, all of you would need to complete an assignment before graduating here at Hogwarts. In the past, students were not allowed to have free will over choosing their own assignments. This year," she paused and looked around the Great Hall at everyone's eager faces.

"…is no exception."

"She's gone mad, she has," Ron whispered to Harry.

"Weasley! Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the school?"

Ron flushed and shook his head.

"I should think so." McGonagall snapped. "All of your names are already in this cauldron." She pointed to the cauldron in front of her. It looked aged and chipped and definitely did not look like it could possibly contain all their names.

"All the teachers will begin picking their students and you will be briefed in your respective classrooms. Need I remind you, that this assignment counts for seventy percent of your grades, so please, for the love of Dumbledore, do something good for yourselves."

At the mention of Albus Dumbledore, everyone kept quiet. No one dared to intrude that moment of silence – that moment when everyone mourned for their deceased Headmaster. Those were dark times and Harry looked outside the windows, because he knew (and he was right) that people would start looking at him.

He couldn't and wouldn't bear those pitiful stares, which just got more unbearable with time. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his. He didn't know his hands were trembling until then.

He looked up and saw Ginny smiling gently at him. Harry reciprocated with a small smile but his smile never quite reached his eyes.

Miranda McGonagall knew she had hit a sore spot. She cleared her throat and brought most of the Hall back to the present. "All right now, let's begin."

The cauldron came to life and all of the teachers stood up.

"First up," McGonagall announced, "we have Astronomy."

Ron closed his eyes and prayed fervently that he would not get that assignment. Dean Thomas poked his ribs. "If only that will help, Weasley," he said while stifling his laughter.

"Dean Thomas!" Professor Patricia Thorne announced.

Ron burst out laughing and Harry joined in. Dean's face fell and his smile shattered into a million pieces.

Finally, after what seemed like a long time, Professor Thorne returned to his seat, somewhat pleased with her selection.

"Next up," McGonagall placed her wand near her throat in a Sonorus spell, "Muggle Studies."

Professor Jonah Kingsley moved to the front of the stage and placed his hand in the cauldron.

"Pansy Parkinson!"

"NO!" Pansy shouted out loud, which evoked a glare from McGonagall.

More names echoed around the Hall.

"Last but not least," Professor Kingsley reached his hand into the cauldron once more. "Ronald Weasley!"

Ron's jaw dropped open and Ginny looked at her brother with empathy.

"No…" he whispered and closed his eyes for a few seconds, wishing that it was a dream.

Sadly, when he opened those eyes, Dean was laughing right in his face.

Harry shook his head. "Honestly, I don't know what's worse. Between you and me, though, I think you got the better deal."

Ron looked at him and gave him a look that plainly said he didn't believe Harry.

"Look at her," Harry pointed his chin at Professor Thorne, who had a knowing smile on her face and was looking up at the ceiling of Great Hall.

She looked absolutely insane.

Ron seemed to be slightly appeased by that.

"Defence of the Dark Arts!"

Harry squirmed in his seat. He didn't admit it to them, but a huge part of him yearned to be picked for Defence of the Dark Arts. After what happened with Dumbledore…

He wished he was stronger. He knows the day would come when he would need to be strong for the people he cared for the most. Looking over at Ginny and Ron, he crosses his fingers behind his back.

"Draco Malfoy!"

_No surprise there_, Harry thought.

The Slytherin table cheered on. Harry watched as Blaise Zabini gave Draco a slap on the back and Pansy clapped her hands in excitement. He couldn't help but notice that Draco looked different. He looked like he has lost weight and his hair did not look as sleek as it used to be when they first entered Hogwarts together. He seemed to realize that someone was watching him and he looked over at the Gryffindor table, at Harry. His eyes seemed to have lost the hatred and anger which Harry was familiar with. His face seemed… etched with worry.

But as quickly as it came, the look on Draco's face passed and he was back to his old self. He glared at Harry before he turned his back and cheered with the rest of his table.

The end came too soon and Harry uncrossed his fingers.

That left only Transfigurations and … Potions. Harry felt a sudden twist in his stomach.

"Potions!" McGonagall's voice rang out.

"Blaise Zabini!"

Draco's dark haired friend smiled cockily and looked around his table, basking in his tablemates' approval. _Potions would be easy for any Slytherin_, Harry thought bitterly.

The moment Harry dreaded had finally arrived.

"Harry Potter." His name was said in a menacing tone and the underlying meaning beneath that voice was not to be missed.

From the Gryffindor table, Harry watched as Snape's lips curled up in a small smile. Snape's remained impassive, but Harry knew, as he felt a rock sink to the deeper ends of his stomach, that Snape had already formulated a plan to make Harry suffer as much as he possibly could.

Harry heaved a deep sigh and once more, he felt Ginny's gentle touch. He reciprocated by placing his other hand on top of hers and smiled back at her, albeit a bit forcefully.

"Victoria Westwood." Another one from Slytherin and once again, cheers erupted from the table.

She was a new student at Hogwarts who just transferred from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic at the start of the school term. And like all Beauxbatons students, she was gorgeous. She had long, wavy blonde hair that flowed all the way to the mid-section of her back and her eyes – her eyes were of the deepest blue Harry had ever seen. It reminded him of the Black Lake but that also reminded him of how Cedric Diggory had died in that Triwizard Tournament, so he looked back at the empty table in front of him.

"Honestly, how many more to go? I'm starving!" Ron grumbled.

Charms was up next and Ginny was still not in Charms. When Professor Flitwick returned (or rather, levitated) to his seat, Ginny's smile was huge. She was in Transfigurations.

"Needless to say, the rest of you will be with me, in Transfigurations. And with that, let the feast begin!"

Along with the feast, their final year at Hogwarts began.


	2. The Deadly Assignments

**The Deadly Assignments**

"As final year students in my class, you ought to know that I have very high expectations of all of you." McGonagall's voice resonated in the Transfiguration classroom.

"That's needless to say," Michael Corner nudged Ginny. Ginny tried her best to ignore Michael. After going out with him in their fifth year, she was glad that their relationship was over. He was beyond superficial and frankly, in Harry's exact words, quite an ass.

"The assignment which I will assign to you seems simple, but it will not be easy to obtain a good grade from me. I want something _more_ out of you and the assignment," McGonagall said, with emphasis on the word "more". She paused as her serious gaze scoured the classroom and rested on each student. No one moved a muscle.

"In this final year project, I would need each and every one of you to write a fifty-page essay," – muffled groans echoed around the classroom – "on the subject of turning an inanimate object into an animate one."

"What?"

"Is she serious?"

"This is going to be a blast!"

"What is she saying?"

Everyone started whispering and murmuring responses to McGonagall's task. It seemed too simple to achieve. They had been doing that since they were first year students. What was her underlying intention?

Ginny ignored the buzz around her. "Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes, Weasley?"

"Do you mean _any_ inanimate object?"

"Yes, Weasley, _any_ inanimate object," McGonagall's gaze lingered on Ginny for a while. "Any more questions, class?"

Some shook their heads. Some murmured 'no'. Others had no response whatsoever. No one could guess what McGonagall was trying to achieve by giving them such a simple task.

͏

"Class dismissed," Snape said in a deadpan voice.

"He's definitely trying to kill us," Seamus Finnigan shook his head in despair.

Harry shrugged but he knew it was true – Snape was trying to destroy their shot of graduating. The task he gave was not remotely achievable. A fifty-page essay on the creation of a new potion.

How does one just simply create a new potion?

Harry sighed audibly and Blaise snorted. "What, Potter? Finally something you can't do, eh?"

Blatantly ignored him, Harry packed his books into his satchel and began to file out of the classroom with the rest of the students.

"Potter."

Even with his back turned against Snape, he could feel Snape's hatred boring into him, as if it would pulverise Harry into nothingness.

Harry took a deep breath, turned around and walked toward Snape.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Do you foresee yourself facing any difficulties regarding the assignment?" The right corner of Snape's lips curled up in a smirk.

Harry had no idea how he should answer Snape's rhetorical question so he just replied in the way he always did when Snape asked him a question in class.

"I'm not sure, Sir."

"You're not sure?" Snape's voice was dangerously low.

Harry ignored his question, undoubtedly another rhetorical one. _What an ass_.

Snape raised his voice such that some of the students which were on their way out of the classroom turned to look at the both of them. "You do know, Potter, that I have extremely high expectations of you. After all, you _are_ the chosen one."

_Seriously, after all that the school has been through, he's still doing this?_

Harry found that hard to believe.

"Yes, Sir," he merely answered.

"Get out of my classroom, Potter," Snape scowled menacingly.

͏

The day came to an end and Harry, Ron and Ginny gathered together at the Quidditch stands, watching the sunset.

"Bloody hell!" Ron cursed loudly, startling Ginny.

"What is it, Ron?" Ginny looked at her brother with concern in her warm honey-brown eyes.

"Kingsley's gone mad! He's asking us to _befriend _a Muggle so that we can observe their habits and lifestyle and write a fifty-page essay on that! How is that even possible? I don't know any Muggles!"

"How are you going to befriend and observe a Muggle for three months when we're at Hogwarts?" Harry asked in curiosity.

"Each of us needs to befriend a Muggle and cast a Confundus spell on their families and friends to trick them into thinking that their children have gone off camping! It's madness, I tell you." Ron grumbled with his brows furrowed in pure frustration.

Ginny patted her brother lightly on the back and Harry tried feeling sorry for Ron. He really tried but he couldn't. He couldn't because he was worried about his own assignment, which at this point sounded a million times worse than Ron's. He'd gladly switch assignments with him.

"How was your day, Harry?" Ginny asked, while Ron's head remained buried in his hands.

_Better, now that you're here._

"It was horrible. Snape wants us to create a new potion."

"A new potion?" Ron looked up. "Is that even possible?"

"Apparently not but he wants that anyway."

The colour slowly returned to Ron's face and Harry could tell that he was suddenly glad that his assignment involved making friends with a Muggle.

"Oh dear, Harry, what do you think you'll do?"

"What else," Harry replied in a bitter tone, "pray that I graduate alive, I suppose."

As Ginny's mouth parted to reply Harry, they heard muffled noises at the other end of the stands.

"What is it that you want?" someone hissed.

"You know what I want, Draco."

_Draco?_

All three of them arched their backs forward and tried to listen to the hushed conversation.

"Draco, please. You have to understand."

The voice was saccharine and seductive, and the accent was...

…very French.

"What do you think Draco is pissed about with Victoria Westwood?" Ron whispered while Ginny nudged Ron in the ribs in an effort to make him stop talking.

"Shut up. You don't have any idea what I want," came Draco's reply. It sounded angry yet at the same time, desolate. Harry wondered what was going on and whether what he had seen in the Great Hall was not a figment of his imagination – that Draco Malfoy was really worried about something.

"Draco, I –"

"Enough!" Draco hissed. Then there was silence.

The three of them sat there, unmoving, for what seemed like a long time.

When they were sure that the two of them had left, Ginny whispered "what do you think is going on between those two?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ron rolled his eyes. "Draco is refusing her advances!"

Ginny sat up straight. "That can't be right. She's gorgeous," she murmured.

"Tell me about it," Ron replied with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Harry laughed. Ginny gave Harry a meaningful look. "What do you think, Harry?"

"She's pretty, all right, but I really don't think what that was about."

Ginny seemed somewhat pleased with his reply and shook her brother out of his dreamy stupor. "Come on guys, let's go."

͏

It was the weekend and Ginny was thinking about her assignment at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. She was deep in thought when a bunch of girls from Hogwarts walked in, all excited and flushed.

"You can't be serious! Jonah has already asked you? It's only the start of the year!" exclaimed one of the girls.

Ginny recognised a girl from the group – Georgina Hunt from Ravenclaw. _They must be talking about Jonah Thomas_, Ginny thought wryly. Jonah Thomas was the Keeper of Ravenclaw; besides being talented in Quidditch, his sandy blonde hair, green eyes and lopsided smile made it easy for him to be one of the most gorgeous guys Hogwarts had ever seen.

Georgina was a pretty brunette who proved to many that beauty can indeed exist alongside brains, but she was also downright arrogant. She was pretty and she knew that fact very well.

Georgina looked around and saw Ginny. She gave a smile which looked more like a smirk and spoke aloud, no doubt for Ginny's benefit. "Oh yes! He was so sweet about it, too!"

"How did he ask?"

"Oh, you know, he left clues for me to follow and at the end of it all, there were fireworks. That sort of thing." Georgina tried to sound bored and dismissive but it was obvious to anyone with eyes that she was showing off.

"Oh my! That is so romantic!"

Georgina smiled sweetly at her friend / follower. "Don't worry, I'm sure Gerald will ask you to the prom."

"You think?" the blonde-haired girl clasped her hands together excitedly.

"Of course!" Georgina patted her friend patronisingly on the back. "I've already rejected him twice, so he should come around pretty soon," she said, giving her a saccharine smile.

The blonde's face fell.

Ginny rolled her eyes. _It's just the prom! Not a marriage proposal!_

She couldn't possibly think under these circumstances, so she got up and walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, trying to get some inspiration on her Transfiguration assignment.

She stopped and looked to her left. _This must be a new shop_, she thought; she did not see it during her last trip out. The shop looked exquisite and for a moment, Ginny stood entranced outside the windows.

She was not fascinated by the clothes – rather, she was spellbound by the mannequin wearing the clothes. There was something to her… _It – something to it_, Ginny mentally corrected herself. The mannequin's eyes were liquid honey and her hair was of a rich brown hue. It looked like a pool of dark chocolate cascading down her back. She was exquisitely beautiful but the real reason why Ginny was staring at her for so long was because there was a look in her eyes that was unexplainable. Ginny knew how mad it would sound, but it looked as though the mannequin was staring back at Ginny, as if she knew what Ginny was thinking. The smile the mannequin had on, unlike most mannequins around, was almost shy. The mannequin standing in the bay window looked… real.

Ginny shook herself out of the self-induced stupor and made her way back to the castle. As she left, she tossed her head back a little and caught another glimpse of the mannequin. Gosh, it was like staring at the famous portrait of Mona Lisa. The mannequin seemed as though she was still looking at Ginny.

_How wonderful it would be if she really was real_, Ginny thought to herself and stopped in her tracks.

That's it! That was the project she needed. She walked back to the shop and took out her wand. She muttered the Transfiguration spell under her breath and pointed the tip of the wand at the mannequin.

Nothing happened.

Ginny waited for another minute and tried again.

Still nothing.

She had no idea why it didn't work She shook her wand slightly. Maybe it was broken. Maybe the spell didn't work.

Heaving a deep sigh of disappointment, she made her way back to Hogwarts.

If only she had turned back once more.

͏

Draco stumbled out of The Three Broomsticks into the dark alleys of Hogsmeade. It was late and he was the last customer to leave the pub. Madam Rosmerta practically chased him out of the pub so that she could end the business for the day.

Too much of Butterbeers and Fire Whiskeys made him sway from side to side; he could almost hear the alcohol sloshing in his stomach.

He stood in the middle of the alley while trying to find his bearing and balance. Before he moved to the left to proceed back to the castle, he saw something at the corner of his eye. Drunkenness aside, he whipped out his 10" wand and stood on guard.

He waited for a few silent moments and his gaze fleeted from left to right, then left again. There was no movement. He relaxed his guarded stance and placed the wand in the back pocket of his jeans.

He shook his head and tried, but failed, to clear some booze from his system. As he walked on, he caught his reflection in a shop window under the dim street lights. "Lumos," he muttered and he stared at himself. His staring was not out of narcissism – he was looking and wondering where all the weight went. His reflection looked back at him with gaunt cheeks and a hollow look in the eyes.

Draco was self-admittedly never a cheerful child, but his other half was now telling him that his family issues definitely had an effect on him, and not in a good way.

He sighed and continued his walk back to the castle. A drop of water fell from the sky and landed on his nose. He crinkled his nose and wiped it off. The droplet's siblings started falling and Draco cursed under his breath as he stood under a cascading waterfall of rain.

_Ah, what the heck_, he thought. It was after his curfew but he couldn't be bothered anymore.

It happened out of nowhere.

Something fell into his arms.

- End of Chapter 2: The Deadly Assignments -

A/N: Please submit your reviews to let me know what you think of how the story's coming along so far! Thanks for reading!


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